decay

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. a gradual loss of strength, beauty, or health in a person, building, or society.

n. a gradual deterioration in condition, status, quality, or strength.

“The mayor promised to fix the urban decay in the city's oldest neighbourhoods.”

“The historian argued that the empire's collapse was caused by centuries of internal moral and economic decay.”

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Physics Technical

n. the process where an atom loses energy by releasing radiation.

n. the spontaneous transformation of an unstable atomic nucleus into a lighter one, accompanied by the emission of radiation.

“Scientists measured the radioactive decay of the carbon to find the age of the bone.”

“The half-life of an isotope is defined as the time required for half of the nuclei in a sample to undergo radioactive decay.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Biology

v. to break down naturally or go bad.

v. to undergo decomposition; to rot through natural chemical or biological processes.

“Sugar can cause your teeth to decay if you do not brush them regularly.”

“Without proper ventilation, the wooden beams in the basement will eventually decay due to the high humidity.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to slowly become weaker or lose quality.

v. to decline gradually from a sound or prosperous condition to a lower state.

“The relationship began to decay after they stopped talking to each other.”

“The abandoned mansion was left to decay, its once-grand ballroom now filled with dust and shadows.”

C2 · Proficiency Computing Technical

v. when a list of data changes into a simpler pointer in computer code.

v. the process by which an array loses its type and dimensions, being reduced to a pointer, typically when passed to a function.

“In C++, you must be careful when an array decays into a pointer.”

“The developer noted that the array would decay upon being passed to the legacy function, losing its size information in the process.”